The Light & Dark expansion for Pandante is unusual in a few ways. Usually expansions make a game more complicated. This one actually makes Pandante simpler, easier to explain, and faster to play. The core rules have been streamlined, many exceptions have been removed, and the flow of play has fewer steps so you can get through a gambit faster.

The Pandante: Light & Dark expansion also adds lots of new content. Here's the four types of new content:

Use the Light abilities (fun!) or an all-new set of Dark (miserable!) abilities

Casino cards that change a rule about the game each gambit

Panda Champions that give each player a special power

Diamond Dreams mode that makes the blue chips into powerups rather than just money

And here's the punchline: you can mix and match that content however you want. Dark abilities with Casino cards? Yes. Panda Champions in Diamond Dreams mode? Yes. All of it at once? Yes, if you want that level of insanity. It's up to you, and you can start with streamlined core game that's simpler than ever.

If you have never played Pandante before, the new base sets INCLUDE the expansion content built right in. The standard version now comes with plastic chips, and the deluxe version is nicer than ever. If you already have a Pandante deck and chips, you can just get the expansion. All three versions (standard, deluxe, and expansion) now come with a large centralized betting board rather than separate boards for each player. This makes it much easier to tell who has the highest claimed hand at any given time, which is important for computing the cost of "snacks".

Another one of my games, Flash Duel, has been out of print for many months. This kickstarter also offers a reprint of that game, and it's better than ever too. There have been two core rule changes that both simplify and streamline the game, while also putting more emphasis on bluffing and improv, rather than on mathy calculations to create 100% guaranteed checkmate situations at the end of a round.

Now, all game modes use a 40 card deck (rather than 25 in 1v1 before) and you remove a random 5 cards before playing. So rounds last slightly longer (they ended uncomfortably early before) and you can't be entirely sure how many of a certain card are present each round. Also, the "last hits" mechanic is removed. It was the most complicated part of the game, and actually ended up having the opposite as its intended effect anyway. In addition to all this, there are dozens of balance and wording changes, including all text being written in a gender-neutral way now.

This is a great time to jump into both of these new games if you haven't tried them before. They're both better than ever, and it's been a blast developing them and playing all the new content. It's your turn now! Head on over to the kickstarter.